The Ties that Blind
by englandoclova
Summary: What if that kid with no body who Sandy met that faithful day two years ago had been blinded when the car his brother stole had crashed?Ryan is forced to allow the Cohen’s to help him because he just can’t look after himself like he’s used to…
1. Chapter 1

The Ties that Blind

What if that kid with no body who Sandy met that faithful day two years ago had been blinded when the car his brother stole had crashed?

Ryan is forced to allow the Cohen's to help him because he just can't look after himself like he's used to…

Chapter 1

Sandy Cohen looked down at the thick folder in front of him and sighed. This kid had been through hell. He had been pummelled so many times, too many times and been through the system nearly as many times as his mother had had boyfriends. And, two weeks ago he had been blinded.

This kid is only 16, the same age as Seth. If his son were to see as much anguish in his life as this kid had seen in his 16 short years, Sandy would feel he had failed as a father.

The door leading from the main juvie hall swung open and a kid shuffled through. He knocked hard into the sharp corner of the table as he tried desperately to find his way to the chair opposite Sandy. Nobody seemed prepared to help him, two guards stood, doing nothing but looking mildly amused, either side of the door.

Sandy's heart broke in two. He jumped to his feet to help the kid and grabbed hold of his arm. To his surprise, however, the kid struggled, terrified against his touch. Right, thought Sandy, the abuse.

This is no normal kid, he thought to himself and, as he looked into the boy's eyes, which, despite his blindness seemed to brim with emotion, he knew he was right.

This is no normal kid; this is Ryan Atwood . . .

Sorry its short! What do you think!

Please review! I don't mind criticism, it only helps me improve! xxx


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan sat opposite Sandy sheepishly.

"Kid, its your first offence and I think the chances are your gonna get off."

Ryan just nodded sadly.

"What about Trey?"

"Trey," Sandy inquired

"My brother"

"Kid, your brother has offended before, and he's not a minor like you, I'd be surprised if he doesn't get three years"

Ryan nodded sadly. Gees, he was really breaking Sandy's heart.

"Well kid, I think you can go home now, you have a probation hearing in two weeks, I'll see you then."

Ryan just nodded. He clambered up and felt desperately around for the door to leave. Sandy knew better this time than to grab the kid's arm, so he opted for the less startling approach:

"Hey, kiddo, I'm gonna take hold of your arm, Okay, help you out?"

Ryan didn't respond, but tensed up the moment Sandy gently took a hold of his shoulder. At least he isn't trying to get free, Sandy thought.

The pair walked arm in arm out of the juvie hall. In the reception, Sandy stopped. Ryan rigidly stood like a statue next to him.

"Ok kid, you want me to wait with you outside while you wait for your mum to get here."

Ryan shrugged: "I don't think she is coming, she doesn't know I'm in here."

Sandy was shocked, if Seth had been missing for two hours, let alone two weeks, him and Kirsten would be frantically looking for him, ringing round the hospitals. Oh, God, Sandy thought, the kids mum didn't know he was blind. How had gone through this on his own? Why had he had to?

Sandy gulped. "Tell you what kid, why don't we phone her, I can explain everything, you know, if you don't want too."

Ryan shrugged, foraged in his pocket and dug out a grubby, crumpled little book with an embossed image of a telephone on the front. He held it out in Sandy's vague direction. He cleared his throat: "Will you dial the number for me please, Mr. Cohen?"

Sandy was taken aback by how much of a kid Ryan sounded like at that moment.

"Sure kiddo, anything"

Sandy walked over to the payphone; Ryan seemed to sense this and followed him. Sandy found 'Home' in the book and typed the number. As he began to search his pockets for some coins to put in the machine when Mrs.Atwood picked up, a hand nudged him. He turned round, Ryan stood there with his hand outstretched, a quarter in his hand.

There was no ringing tone on the end of the line, God, the line had been cut. Sandy gulped, what was the kid gonna do?

"Hey kid, keep it," Sandy said, closing Ryan's fingers around his coin.

"What did she say?" Ryan almost whispered, as if he already knew the answer.

"Well kid, I not gonna lie to you, the line had been cut, there was nobody there."

Ryan nodded slowly, then, if Sandy hadn't known better he would have sworn that Ryan looked him in the eye as he said:

"What shall I do now?"

Suddenly, a plan formed in Sandy's head…

TBC!

Please, please reply, I really value feedback.

Trust me, it does get more interesting…


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the OC.

Ryan sat in the front passenger seat of Sandy Cohen's swanky car. He looked completely overwhelmed.

Sandy jumped in the driver's seat beside Ryan, who jumped.

"Hey kid, its only Sandy."

Ryan nodded and visually relaxed, for some reason, he trusted Sandy. Trust he had never trusted anyone before, not his mum, his dad, Trey…

Ryan felt his seat. It felt soft, like leather, very posh.

"I didn't realise you guys made so much money, this is a nice car."

Sandy was slightly taken aback, how did the kid know? He was certainly very perceptive…

"We don't, my wife does."

Ryan nodded.

"What does she do?"

"She works as an architect for her fathers company"

"I always wanted to be an architect, you know, before…" Ryan trailed off and cleared his throat.

"Kid, let this be a new beginning for you, don't think of the things you can't do, think of the things you can do."

Ryan just nodded, but didn't look convinced. Sandy gulped, poor kid, but there certainly was something special about him.

Sandy pulled into the drive to the Cohen mansion.

"Kid, stay in the car ok? I have to have a word with my wife, she isn't exactly expecting you."

Ryan just nodded. He listened to the sound of the car door slam shut, the crunch of gravel under feet, the click of the front door of the house being opened. When he was sure he was out of sight, he felt to open the car door, swung his legs around and shuffled along the side of the car, never moving both hands from it to guide him.

Ryan pulled up his grey sweater hood against the wind, then reached into the pocket of his sweats. He drew out a packet of smokes and a lighter. God, he needed a cigarette so bad…

"Who are you?" A sexy voice inquired.

"Whoever you want me to be," Ryan answered, glad his hoodie was covering his eyes, hot chicks didn't dig poor little blind boys, he was sure of it.

"Right…"

"Seriously? I stole a car. Crashed it. Actually, my brother did. Since he had a gun and drugs on him, he's in jail. I got out, and got blinded and my mom threw me out. Because she was pissed off and drunk. And Mr. Cohen took me in."

" You're the cousin from Boston, right?"

" Right."

Just then, Ryan heard Sandy approach him from behind.

"Hey Marissa"

"Hey I was just meeting your nephew."

"That's right, my favorite nephew, all the way from Seattle."

Damn, thought Ryan- I'm meant to be from Boston!

"My mums from Boston, dads from Seattle," he explained.

"Right, bye, see you around Ryan", Ryan heard Marrissa retreat up the drive. Sandy chose that moment to pull the cigarette from between Ryan's fingers.

"We don't have smoking in this house, Ok kid?"

Ryan's heart was pounding in his chest. This was it, he'd made mad. Damn having no sight, he couldn't defend himself. Instead he crouched down and put his arms defensively over his head.

"Sorry Ryan almost pleaded.

Whoa, Sandy remembered, tread carefully around this kid, he was vulnerable as hell.

"Hey kiddo, relax, I'm not angry, I just will be if you smoke again, and you can call me Sandy, ok?"

Ryan nodded apprehensively. Sandy gently took a hold of his shoulder and led him up the drive towards the house. Ryan was tense as hell, he obviously wasn't convinced about the not angry thing.

"Steps here kid, watch out," Ryan was grateful for Sandy's help, he had fallen over steps countless times in hospital and juvie since the accident.

Sandy opened the front door and lead Ryan through into the kitchen, where a rather narked Kirsten stood with her arms crossed.

"Kirsten, I'd like you to meet Ryan Atwood, Ryan, this is my beautiful wife, Kirsten."

Kirsten was quite taken aback when the awful juvenile delinquent she had been expecting held out his hand slightly to her left and said:

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kirsten took the boys hand, noticing that he started as she did so, and shook it.

Maybe she could live with this for the weekend after all, but what would Seth think?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the OC

Seth ambled around the corner to the kitchen.

"Afternoon mother, father, oh, ok, I don't appear to know you."

Boy, this kid sounded like a comic book geek, the kind that would get his ass whipped in Chino, but then, Ryan wasn't in Chino, and he doubted he'd be too good at the whole ass kicking business anymore. This was a new start for him, Sandy had said, maybe he could get along with this kid.

Just then, Sandy took a hold of his shoulders, he tensed as Sandy rotated him round, presumably to face this kid.

"Seth, this is Ryan, he's going to stay with us for a while. Ryan, this is my son, Seth, he's your age, maybe you guys could hang out."

Seth was a bit sceptical, this kid looked rough, the kind to kick your ass, not play playstation with, besides, he had a shifty look in his eyes…

"Why is he staying with us?"

"Seth," Kirsten warned, but Ryan cut in:

"Because I stole a car, got banged up, now my mum doesn't want me so I have nowhere else to go."

"Right," explains him looking rough, thought Seth; "Do you want to play Grand Theft Auto? It's pretty cool. You can like, steal cars and... not that that's cool. Or uncool. I don't know... um..."

"Yeah, and I'm not so good at the whole playstation thing, being blind and all kind of makes it difficult."

…and that explains the shifty look, thought Seth.

"Oh, well, blinds cool, means you can't see what a geek I really am and do all that judging-before-you-know-me type stuff."

Ryan nodded; "Oh, I have no doubt that you're a comicbook geek, you'd have to be more than blind not to know that, lucky for you, I'm ok with geeks."

"Cool," Seth nodded back. There was something about Ryan, he was alright, and he was cool, if somebody cool wanted to hang out with him, he wasn't gonna argue…

"Okay, so that's a no on the Grand Theft Auto, what do you say to the wonder that is the Graphic novel?"

Ryan raised his eyebrows:

"Seth, for the same reason I can't play Grand Theft Auto, I can't read comicbooks!"

"Whoa, dude, the correct term is G-R-A-P-H-I-C N-O-V-E-L"

The boys were interrupted by Sandy chuckling. They had only just met but gelled so well, like brothers….

"Fine, that's a no on the graphic novel as well. Tell you what, why don't you come and meet a friend of mine, Captain Oats. You don't need eyes to appreciate him dude."

Ryan, looking extremely sceptical allowed himself to be dragged away by an enthusiastic Seth, who, Sandy noticed did not make Ryan wince when he touched him.

When the boys were definitely out of earshot, Sandy turned to face his wife. She still looked a little peeved, but had clearly relaxed when, like Sandy, she had seen how well the boys got along.

"Sandy, I'll agree to him staying the weekend, but what then? The kid doesn't seem too well adjusted to being blind, he need some help, guidance, not just a roof over his head, and anyway, when he leaves us on Monday, where's he going to go?"

Sandy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Your right, he does need some help adjusting, thing is, first thing is though, as far as the court sees it, the most important thing is that he's a young offender and that comes before rehabilitation. Second? There isn't exactly many facilities available to a 'juvenile delinquent' with no health insurance and no money, and what there is, there are waiting lists for."

Kirsten was struck by the sadness and sheer desperateness of Ryan's situation.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with the OC! Just over One Year Later… 

Ryan sat a stool, outside, somewhere. But in Newport or Chino?

Newport. Sandy and Kirsten had adopted him, taken him under their wing. His mum had agreed, when they had eventually found her again: after all, she sure as hell couldn't care for herself, let alone a blinded Ryan.

So, on Christmukkah day, Ryan Atwood was sitting on the squidgy armchair of the Cohen's den, whilst the Cohens chatted happily and passed each other and Ryan packages.

It had been one hell of a year, once the adoption was out of the way, Sandy and Kirsten where free to arrange for Ryan to attend some of the best rehabilitation therapy in the country…

… and that wasn't where it had ended. On Ryan's second session at the clinic, the doctors had discovered tiny glass fragments still in his eyes. A week later, Ryan had undergone surgery.

Over the next few months, with the glass fragments removed, Ryan had begun to regain some vision. The Cohens had been over the moon with his progress, and insisted paying for him to receive laser surgery after his doctors had suggested it.

Of course, some of the damage sustained and the scar tissue left by the fragments that had remained in his eyes for all those weeks was irreparable; but still, Ryan thought, he was now enjoying the best Christmas of his life, and had enough vision to make up the vibrant colours of the Christmas tree and wrapping paper. (Kirsten had abandoned her usual tastefully minimalistic decorations for fully flung flashing lights and all the trimmings, so that Ryan could appreciate them too.)

Furthermore, he could just about make out the jolly faces of his family, and that was something he had never seen before…

…this truly had been a wonderful year, and it looked as though there was a wonderful future ahead, or at least a colourful flashing one, if Kirsten had her way!

THE END

Merry Christmukkah everyone! Please reply and let me know what you think of the conclusion to this story.

Sorry I've taken so long to update, I was going to just abandon the story but thought I owed it to everyone reading to give a little ending.

Watch this space for a new story from me soon!


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